The Beauty Behind the Madness
by sp0by
Summary: After trying to get back on his feet from a bad break up, Chuck Bartowski tries and enters the world of dating again, only to get sucked into the chaotic world of Sarah Walker, who is more than just complicated.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chuck Bartowski was a guy who thought of himself as nothing beyond average. He was a Stanford graduate that graduated with pretty great marks, but he had no clue what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He had no plan. The biggest thing he did was get a job on the side at this store named 'Buy More' to help get some cash in his pocket. The majority of the income came through his _really_ amazing sister Ellie, as well as her very serious boyfriend Devon, otherwise known as 'Captain Awesome', just because of how much he said the word 'awesome'.

Ellie and Devon were doctors. They'd been together for a really long time, and it didn't look like Devon was going anywhere anytime soon. Chuck lived with them, but only because Ellie was nice enough to offer him a place to stay, since he was a clueless guy that didn't know what he was going to do next.

He got up from bed, ready for another day of the same cycle. Get up, go to work, come home, go to sleep. Of course, all of this with added interactions from his best friend Morgan, along with Ellie and Devon. But nothing was ever different. Nothing was ever interesting enough on his life. It was all too simple for him. He really needed and wanted something to be interesting in his life, but every day was just the same.

Until this day.

"Hey, Chuck!" Ellie exclaimed when she saw her brother come downstairs. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Devon, sipping her coffee. "Are you going to sit down for some breakfast?"

He shook his head in a hurry.

"I would love to, but I can't," he explained frantically. "I'm gonna be _super_ late for work if I don't leave now. I'm already running late. I have like five minutes until my shift is supposed to start!"

" _Awesome_ ," Devon said.

"That is most certainly, um, not awesome," Chuck said, scratching his head. "Whatever, Captain Awesome. I should, uh, I should leave now. Later, guys." They both waved at him as he started to hurry out the door.

He got into his car and drove off to the Buy More complex. By the time he got there, he was already late for his shift, but only by a few minutes. If Big Mike wasn't paying attention, he'd be able to get in there without a giant lecture.

He rushed into the Buy More building, scanning to see if Mike was looking. And just to his luck, he wasn't paying attention at the moment. He was too busy eating a sandwich or something of that sort. Chuck smiled in relief, happily strolling into the store. He adjusted his name tag, getting ready to begin his shift.

"Chuuuck! Bartooowski!" Morgan exclaimed, clapping his hands together. " _Somebody_ was running late."

"I know," Chuck said with a sigh. "I had an intense night last night. I stayed up too late, and of course, that resulted in me waking up late. I should have known better than to let _her_ get the best of me. I always tell her I have to go to bed, but she just pulls me back in."

Morgan scratched his head.

"You're talking about Call of Duty, right?" he asked.

"Of course," Chuck laughed. "What did you think? I had a girl over?"

"Nope," Morgan answered.

"What? You don't think it's possible for me to have a girl over?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows. "Okay, now I'm a little offended! What would make you think _that_? As if I don't have game ever since... Jill?"

Morgan swallowed hard.

"No, no. Obviously you have game. You're Chuck freaking Bartowski!" Morgan exclaimed. "You definitely don't have as much game as your buddy Morgan over here, but you're still in the zone when you need to be. Maybe you've been in a drought ever since you and Jill broke up, but I'm sure you could-"

"Dammit," Chuck cursed under his breath. "I've been a loser. It's been over a year since we broke up, but I still can't get back out there. I don't know why, but I can't anymore."

"Of course you can," Morgan encouraged. "Any girl would be lucky to get you. I'll give you the Morgan method, and you're gonna hit on the very next girl that walks into Buy More. Is that a deal?"

"The Morgan method? Is this certified?" Chuck joked.

"Through my years of experiential dating, I've acquired much solid proof and evidence that the Morgan method is more than just valid, it's a practical guarantee to get the girl," Morgan said with the stupidest confident grin on his face. "Let me teach you my ways."

"Are you forgetting that neither of us can even remember the last time you had a girlfriend?" Chuck scoffed. "I don't think I should be taking dating advice and flirting advice from you."

"No, you have to do it. Step one, trick her into thinking you're too good for her. Even if she's way out of your league, she can't think that. Make it seem like you've got a million other options, but you've chosen her. She'll feel special, but still know she's replaceable," Morgan told him.

"And step two?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know," Morgan responded, shrugging his shoulders cluelessly. "I mean, I haven't gotten that far in the method. It's still a work in progress, but I assure you, it'll be up and running completely soon. But try step one on the first girl you see! If it works, I'll figure out exactly how to keep it going."

"The next girl that walks into the store?" Chuck nervously asked. "Can't I at least have some sort of selection? I mean, what if the next female specimen that enters this building is a, um, grandmother? It's a very reasonable question, actually."

"Guys like us don't get to be choosers. Plus, only girls in our league even enter this Nerd Herd store, so step one won't be too hard to accomplish. The girls are usually very within or below our leagues," Morgan explained with a grin.

That statement made Chuck feel all the more confident about his flirting goal. It was true, not to be rude or anything. Extremely gorgeous girls rarely walked into a store called Buy More, specifically known for its Nerd Herd booth.

But just to his luck, the complete opposite of a low standard girl entered the store next. And this girl wasn't average. She wasn't even above average. She was like a goddess from heaven in Chuck's eyes. Her beauty was so apparent and obvious, anyone who looked at her immediately thought of her as beautiful. With her cascading wave of blonde hair falling far past her shoulders, to a tight tank top hugging her curvy features, Chuck's own eyes were in for a treat just looking at her.

Unfortunately, her beauty was a clear sign of having no chance with her. Chuck knew Morgan wouldn't rest until he flirted with probably the prettiest girl he'd seen in his life (yes, even above Jill).

"There she is!" Morgan exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Chuck muttered. "This can't be real life. Morgan, do you see that girl? She's at least a hundred, maybe even a freaking thousand, leagues above me. There's no way I could ever even trick her into believing she's beneath my league. She's beautiful, and I bet she knows it damn well."

Morgan shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't disagree. She is one _sexy_ woman," Morgan commented. "Maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe she's one of those girls that doesn't know she's good looking."

"Oh, I'll _bet_ she knows," Chuck said. "And even if she didn't notice, how many guys on a daily basis do you think go up to her and call her gorgeous or compliment her?"

"I don't know, but definitely at least one today. You know why? Because you're gonna be that guy," Morgan informed him, poking his chest. "Go. _Do it_."

"Morgan..." Chuck muttered.

"Come on, Chuck! You'll never know unless you try," he said. "And if you don't, I'll go tell Big Mike you came into work late today. Blackmail is what I do best, baby."

"Screw you, Grimes, even though that's clever," Chuck laughed. "I'm feeling lucky today."

He didn't feel _that_ lucky, though. It was pretty clear he was going to go up to her and make a giant fool out of himself, and he knew that. He knew that, and he was okay with it. He was tired of being afraid to ever make a move on a girl just because one other girl broke his heart badly. He knew there was a good side to being with somebody, and it wouldn't kill him to look a little. There was no reason to mope about Jill for the rest of his life.

Morgan backed up a bit, giving him space in the Nerd Herd booth, since he didn't want to interrupt the big first flirt (and possible last flirt, too). She offered Chuck a small smile when she arrived at the booth, but he was completely sure it was only a smile of decency, since she was about to get some sort of Nerd Herd service from him.

"H-hello," Chuck began, scratching his neck nervously. "Welcome to Buy More's Nerd Herd... erm, how may I help you today?"

Morgan raised his eyebrows. That did _not_ look like anything near flirting. It seemed like he was just doing his job, which was pretty much all it was at this point. Except in Chuck's mind, there were a million things he was thinking about. He was trying to figure out the perfect card to play so he didn't screw this up. If he went with Morgan's unfinished, terrible method, there was a very big chance everything could become screwed in like, half a second. But he could vey well screw it up all on his own, since he happened to be quite a huge nerd, and a woman like that probably wasn't interested in a huge nerd.

"Hi," she greeted, her smile broadening. Her stunning blue eyes locked with his, sparkling. He noticed that perfect sparkle in her eyes right when he looked into them. "My phone's like, completely screwed, and I was wondering if there was anything you could do about it."

"Well, we _are_ the Nerd Herd," Chuck told her with the most awkward grin in his entire life. _Dammit, Chuck, this isn't how it's supposed to go,_ he thought, although the awkward smile on his face remained. "We um, we specialize in this... Nerd stuff."

To his surprise, she laughed. She _laughed_. Now, whether it was a laugh out of pity or a genuine laugh was yet to be figured out, but from the look on her face, Chuck seriously was thinking that just maybe, _just maybe_ , it could have been genuine. That didn't mean he had a shot or anything, but it was a positive sign wasn't it. Besides looks (which everyone claims they don't care about, but it's so obvious they do care about looks), girls usually seemed to be attracted to guys that could make them laugh. Funny guys were all the rave back in college, and even high school (maybe even junior high).

"Then, _nerd_ , why don't you take a look at it and tell me what you can do?" she said, pulling her phone out of her purse, and then handing it to him.

He nodded his head.

"Of course."

"Thank you," she said with a sweet smile. "So, when can I get it back?"

"Whenever it's ready," he responded. "I'll have to take a good look at it and see if it's an easy problem to fix or a hard one."

"Oh, okay. I'll stop by periodically, then," she told him. "To check and see if it's ready."

"Yeah, mhm," he nodded his head eagerly. "You should do that." She faintly laughed again, this time it was more directed towards his awkwardness, though. "So, do you have a name, or should I just give this phone to any random person that comes by?" He swallowed hard before adding, "But it shouldn't be a problem if you don't want to give me your name because it's impossible to find someone of uhhm, an equal beauty... So I'm just gonna stop myself now."

Her smile grew wider.

"Sarah," she introduced herself. "I'm Sarah Walker, and you're really sweet."

"As much as I love the name sweet, I go by Chuck Bartowski," he joked.

"I figured. You're wearing a name tag," she reminded, the smile remaining.

"Oh, yes, how.. how could I forget?" he awkwardly spoke again, trying not to get so nervous that he'd start sweating.

"Well, hopefully no other Sarah Walkers come up to you and claim my phone. I'll come by again later," she told him, and started to turn around.

Morgan was disappointed. He stepped back up, nudging Chuck.

"Dude," he urged.

Chuck took one second to realize that he wasn't going to mess up this opportunity because of his lack of confidence. Sure, she was a beautiful girl, but he didn't want to feel like he was so beneath her. There shouldn't have been a reason for him to be so afraid to just ask her for something stupid, like her phone number.

"Wait!" Chuck called, and she turned around.

"Mhm?"

"You could stop by periodically and check if your phone is ready, but I think the easiest solution to this issue would be if you quickly scribbled down your phone number. I could use it for only the purpose of sending you a text message to tell you your phone is read-" he began.

"You do realize that you have my phone, right?" she asked, on the verge of bursting out into laughter.

" _Dammit_ , Chuck!" he muttered to himself. "Um, Sarah, I'm really sorry-"

"No worries," she told him, coming back towards the Nerd Herd booth. "If anything, I think it was a really cute way of trying to get my phone number, which I'm pretty sure you were trying to do. Unless it was just pure stupidity, but I think you're a little too smart to do that. You are a nerd, after all," she joked.

Chuck grinned nervously. Did that mean he was getting her phone number?

"I'll come back in an hour," she announced, with no mention of leaving him her phone number.

When Sarah began to walk away, Chuck turned around to look at Morgan, desperately needing some help. He'd barely made a move. She probably didn't even notice that he was trying to flirt with her. It didn't feel like flirting, even though it was so hard for him to get anything he had just said out.

"Use the _Morgan method_ ," Morgan urged, pushing him back towards the front of the Nerd Herd booth.

Chuck grabbed the purse she had left on the Nerd Herd counter and jumped over the booth wall. He lightly jogged towards her, calling, "Sarah, wait! Wait!"

She turned around again.

"What is it this time?" she asked with a light laugh, but then pursed her lips when she saw what he was holding.

"You forgot your purse," Chuck told her, holding his hand out to offer her the purse back.

"Oh," Sarah said, scratching her head. "Thank you."

But that was really it. Chuck couldn't think of another thing to say to her. She smiled at him again, taking her purse and then turning back around to walk out the door of Buy More. He had missed his first shot with her, but luckily, he now knew that she would be coming back in an hour to pick her phone up, if it was ready. Now, he had an hour to think of the perfect words to say to her to win her over, and possibly convince her to go out on a date.

When he went back to the Nerd Herd, all he could see was the disappointment on Morgan's face. Yeah, he sort of failed the challenge. But he did try! He tried to ask for her phone number, and he asked for her name. That was about it, but it was more than he'd done in a long, long time. He hadn't even gone to that tiny extent of 'flirting' with any girl in so long. It may have been so little, bit it was still a pretty big step for him.

"I would totally tell Big Mike that you came late to work today if I didn't know she was coming back in an hour for her phone," Morgan told him. "She may be like a sexy angel, but I think she found you pretty cute. But I mean, who wouldn't find you pretty cute? Look at yourself! You're like, the master of dorky cuteness."

Chuck raised his eyebrows at Morgan's comment.

"She is more than just a catch," Morgan commented, a grin spread wide on his face. "And I mean, your 'cute' act may capture her attention slightly, but the douche act is way better. I've figured it out now. The Morgan method is new and improved. Girls like bad boys. See us? We're nice guys, we're never gonna get the best girls. You slap on a douche, bad boy act, and she'll be all over you. But if you're gonna act like a bad boy, you've gotta look the part, too."

"What are you suggesting?" Chuck asked.

"We're going to transform you into a bad boy before she comes back!" Morgan responded.

"But I have to fix her phone," Chuck argued. "That's my real job, to fix her phone. I'm not getting paid for trying to look good and flirt with girls."

"I swear, it'll only take like half an hour or less. Then just use your magical nerd skills and get that phone done faster than lightning," Morgan said.

Chuck sighed and muttered, "I don't know if this is a good idea... I'd like to think I'm a decent guy, so I don't know if being a bad boy really runs in my blood."

* * *

With some hair gel and some practice of a bad boy brooding look, Morgan officially declared Chuck as ready for the bad boy life. He grinned at his work. Chuck did look a bit different, maybe even convincing enough to be a bad boy.

"Are we done here?" Chuck groaned. "I have less than half an hour to fix her phone now!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just one last touch, and you're good to go," Morgan said with a sneaky grin. He reached over and popped three buttons off of Chuck's white Buy More shirt. The Buy More shirt obviously wasn't the sexiest, classiest bad boy shirt, but Morgan had to work with what he had. So, he let a little bit of Chuck's slightly built chest breathe (he wasn't the most muscular guy in the world, but he had potential there, maybe with some visits to the weight room).

"I feel like a douche," Chuck mumbled.

"You're supposed to!" Morgan cried. "All you have to do now is step up your douche game when she comes back, and then she'll melt into your arms. Guaranteed. No more Nice Guy Chuck. It'll do if you want boring girls, but all the girls want bad boys. That's what they're int nowadays. Be Bad Boy Chuck."

Chuck sighed, pulling Sarah's phone out. He began to tinker with it until he figured out the problem, and soon the solution. The next hour was nearing, and he knew what that meant: she would be returning to Buy More in only a matter of minutes. It was go-time. He had to figure out exactly what to say so he didn't make a total fool out of himself.

And soon enough, the angelic blue-eyed blonde strutted back into the store. The way she pushed her blonde hair behind her ear was so flawless. Everything about her was so flawless. He seriously wouldn't mind getting tangled into whatever mess she brought, as long as she looked like _that_. Dammit, now he was starting to feel like a douche for thinking that way. Sure, her looks were amazing, but that wasn't all he cared about. But for now, her looks were captivating him completely. He didn't know if he could be a douche bad boy when she was that out of his league. How could he possibly convince a woman like her that he was above her league? It wasn't scientifically possible!

"Hi, Chuck," she greeted. "Any chance my phone is ready?" She analyzed him briefly, noticing his changes in appearance since her first visit an hour ago. "New hair?"

"Huh- Oh! No, nope. This is the way I do it normally. I was just, I was just in a rush this morning," Chuck lied, scratching his head.

Morgan was internally cringing watching this scene begin. It didn't look like he was headed for success.

"It looks nice," she complimented, raising an eyebrow. "And the phone?"

"Right!" he exclaimed, grabbing the phone from the counter. "I fixed it. It was a small fix, so it should work good as new. There was a tiny bug on it, but I used a little nerd skill and removed it."

He was remembering what Morgan said now. _Convince her that you're not a nerd_.

Sarah grinned adorably.

"You're amazing,"she commented, accepting the phone back. "How much do I owe you?"

"Forget about it. It's all on me," he said, going back to his nice guy ways. Dammit...

She raised her eyebrows.

"Why?" she asked.

Deepening his voice to add an element of sexiness, he said, "Should a pretty woman like you really have to pay?"

Now, she furrowed her eyebrows. He didn't just look different, he was acting different, too. And she noticed it, although she had spoken to him for about five to ten minutes. But she still noticed the change in attitude.

Morgan was growing frustrated. He picked up his own cell phone, and started spamming Chuck's with text messages.

"One sec," Chuck said, pulling his phone out.

 _PRETEND LIKE THESE MESSAGES ARE FROM A TON OF GIRLS TRYING TO GET YOU_

Chuck swallowed hard. He was going to lie to her again already? This probably wasn't the best way to start off a relationship, not that this was even remotely a relationship yet. In fact, it wasn't even established if she even one percent of interest in him yet. But judging by the look on her face, she didn't look too pleased or interested.

"Damn, will these girls ever leave me alone?" Chuck muttered.

"What?" Sarah laughed. "Too many girls trying to get a hold of you, playboy?"

"Yes, exactly!" Chuck cried. "Thank you for understanding. I've tried to tell them I can't be with them, but they won't listen. They just keep texting me. I'm like, 'lay off, girls', but then my phone keeps blowing up."

"Glad you could make some time for me then," she scoffed, but she seemed genuinely annoyed now.

"I would make plenty of time for you," he said, smirking handsomely. "You're probably the only girl I'd really wanna know. I wouldn't mind if you bothered me."

Sarah's facial expression dropped. He made it completely, bluntly obvious that he wanted to ask her out now.

"Um, Chuck, I don't think that's a good idea," she told him.

"Why? Afraid of what I might do to your heart?" he joked.

She laughed.

"Not exactly. My work is really demanding, and I don't know if I have time for any sort of romantic relations right now," Sarah explained to him.

"How about I make you super lucky and give you a date with me?" he offered. "It's only one date. It could be harmless."

Sarah smiled and agreed, "Okay."

"Really?" Chuck asked, shocked. His eyes went wide. "I.. I mean, of course you said yes."

She laughed again. She was pretty sure he was trying to put up a cool act for her, so she was going to let his douchey comments slide, for now. Before, he was funny and sweet. Hopefully he'd stop this for the date, but she took a chance and accepted. She needed a night off from work. She spent too much time with her intense job. A date could be exactly what she needed, especially if it was with the nice Chuck.

"Now that I actually have my phone back, I can give you my number, and you can text me," Sarah said.

"Well, I knew you'd be charmed by me, so I already put my digits in that phone of yours," Chuck said with a smirk. "I like to let _my lady_ do the work of texting me first."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Alright..." she rolled her eyes. "Um, I'll figure out a restaurant or something for us to go to, and I'll text you, of course. Apparently it's against your policy, so... yeah."

He nodded his head. She shrugged slightly and then exited the Buy More. Chuck turned around with a shocked expression on his face.

"Dude!" Morgan exclaimed. "You have a date with a blonde goddess!"

"It felt so wrong talking like that, but it was so worth it!" Chuck cried. "It's official! The Morgan method actually works!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chuck came home after one of the best days of work yet. He'd landed a date with a girl that he never even thought would _look_ at him. He was still in shock that she said yes to going out on a date with him. Unfortunately, he'd never hear the end of it from Morgan, who was completely in egomaniac mode because his stupid douchey 'Morgan method' had worked well enough to get Chuck a date with a beautiful woman.

On a brighter note, he couldn't wait to tell Ellie that he had gotten a date. She had been super concerned about him ever since he isolated himself from women after the break up with Jill. He couldn't even believe how silly he had been about Jill! Why did he go crazy because of a break up? The idea of this date with the gorgeous Sarah Walker was like a drug that got him high off of it. Now, he could barely remember why he was even sad about his break up with Jill, because he had finally experienced how good the world of dating could be. If he knew he'd be able to land girls like Sarah, he would have jumped back on his feet a lot quicker.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Ellie pointed out when her brother entered the home with a huge grin on his face. "Good day at work or what?"

"The _best_ ," Chuck responded.

"Care to explain what happened?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, I'd love to," he told her, sitting down at the kitchen table, where Ellie and Devon were now eating a steak Ellie had cooked for dinner. "One word: date. I have a date, Ellie. And it's with this extremely beautiful woman."

"Are you serious?" Ellie exclaimed. "Oh Chuck, this is amazing! I'm so happy for you! You're finally going to be finished with all that Jill moping now, right?'

"Yes ma'am, I am," he said, grinning.

"If this gets serious, you better introduce me to her," Ellie reminded him.

"We'll see where it goes," Chuck said. His phone buzzed. He grinned when he saw that the message was from Sarah. "Guess who just texted me."

"You can leave it up to my imagination. I think I already have a pretty good idea of who it is, anyways," Ellie said with a smirk.

"Then you're probably right," Chuck grinned.

He read Sarah's text. She couldn't think of any place to go, so she asked for some restaurant suggestion. Chuck decided that he would take her somewhere fancy for their first date, although it would drain his already-low budget. But for her, he was willing to spend a little extra cash (very much extra cash for this particularly expensive Italian restaurant he had in mind).

They'd set up the time. Friday, which was the next day, at 8 PM. He couldn't have been more excited.

The next day, he woke up and left for another day of work at Buy More.

"How do you look so calm?" Morgan asked, walking up to him during work. "You do remember that you asked that really hot Sarah girl out yesterday, right? And not to mention, but she freaking said yes."

"Obviously I remember," Chuck laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. "How could I forget something like that? Trust me, I'm more than just swooning on the inside. I could barely sleep last night because I was thinking about it. I didn't even feel Call of Duty calling me to play, because all I could think about was this date. I'm about to step back into the dating world, Morgan!"

Morgan sighed and said, "Now this sucks. You've got a pretty girl and I'm a single loser."

Chuck raised his eyebrows.

"If the _Morgan method_ is what got me a date with Sarah Walker, then why can't the actual Morgan use his own method to get a girl?" Chuck asked.

"I'm not as good as putting it to use as I am at figuring out the theory," Morgan answered, shrugging his shoulders.

Chuck was about to respond when he saw that same cascade of blonde hair enter the Buy More store. Sarah had come back? He looked right at her, his eyes widening. He didn't know if she was here to either just see him, or to get a follow-up on her phone situation, but he was thinking the latter. The only problem was that he hadn't douched himself up! He didn't have his hair gel or his unbuttoned shirt.

"Sarah Walker!" Chuck exclaimed. " _What_ a pleasant surprise. What, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to come talk to my date for tonight?" Sarah asked, hopping up on the Nerd Herd counter.

"Oh, you most certainly are allowed to do that," Chuck responded, grinning. "So, I've charmed you so much that you can't even wait until tonight to see me? I must have _some_ effect on you."

"I have some free time from work, and I thought I'd come see what you're like a little more," Sarah admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Don't take it too seriously."

"I'm really happy you came here," Chuck confessed, his whole bad boy act dropping for a moment. He could feel Morgan's eyes piercing him. He wasn't following the Morgan method, and that wasn't alright.

"So, tell me about yourself," Chuck said, trying to ignore Morgan's look.

"I don't like to talk much about myself. I'd much rather hear about you," Sarah informed him with a sweet smile.

"Well, that's a little disappointing. At least, where are you from?" Chuck asked.

"All over the place. I've moved a lot throughout my life. But, I've really settled in Burbank. I'm thinking this might be a more permanent location, but that could always change," Sarah responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"Wow, you told me all that already?" Chuck grinned. "I feel special now."

"You should," Sarah laughed. "I don't usually disclose such personal information so soon. What about you?"

"Hmm, I don't want to spoil everything now. Let's save the small talk for the date. I'm not that interesting of a guy. If we talk too much now, I might not have anything left to say at dinner," Chuck half joked.

"Are you confessing that you're boring?" Sarah asked, laughing.

"I like to be honest," Chuck responded.

"You don't seem so boring so far," Sarah said, her eyes looking up to glance at him for a moment.

"I don't get that a lot," Chuck laughed.

"Any chance you have a lunch break soon?" Sarah asked.

"In like an hour," he responded. "Unfortunately, I started working my shift like half an hour ago, so I won't get a break for a while."

"Then I'll just have to keep on looking forward for tonight-" she began, but then her bright facial expression fell when her phone buzzed. "Dammit," she cursed under her breath. She took the phone out and quickly stared at it. "Chuck, I'm really sorry. I have to go."

"So, I'll assume the phone is working well again?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, yes it is," she responded absentmindedly. "I hate to leave, but I really do have to go."

"I wasn't even expecting you to come to Buy More right now, so I already got a pleasant surprise of a bonus few minutes to talk to you in the morning. As long as I'll get to see you tonight for dinner, I'm good," he said, reaching over to take her hand. He kissed her hand sweetly. "Don't look too pretty tonight. You already make me weak in the knees."

Sarah blushed, biting her lip. She tried to hide the huge smile threatening to emerge on her face. She took a deep breath, focusing on the text she had just gotten. She had extremely important work stuff to take care of.

"Stop being so sweet," she laughed.

"I can't help it," he confessed honestly, biting his lip.

"Don't keep making me want to stay longer. I have to go," she repeated, and avoided his eyes so she could leave the store without anymore hesitation. Once she was outside, she started running towards her car, since Chuck couldn't see her anymore.

As soon as Sarah was gone, Morgan turned to face Chuck with a stern expression on his face.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"Me being a decent guy to my date!" Chuck cried. "And Morgan, I think she likes the nice version of me. I can't help but be myself. It's the way I think to act. Honestly, I think she doesn't hate that side of me."

"She told you to stop being so nice!" Morgan cried. "Dude, if you don't use the Morgan method tonight at your date, you might lose this girl. All girls are a sucker for bad boys. They pretend like they adore the nice guys, then kick them to the curb when a hot bad boy comes along and gives them a spontaneous, star-crossed romance."

"You've been watching too many teen drama movies, haven't you?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Maybe, but that is aside from my point," Morgan continued. "If you actually like this girl, and want her feelings for you to stick around, you better get your douche act together and keep her intrigued."

Chuck sighed. Was it true? Did he actually have to act like an ass to keep Sarah? It felt like she was interested in him today, and he was being a good guy!

* * *

Chuck stared at himself in the mirror. He saw his reflection, and he didn't feel or look like himself at all. He was wearing the fanciest suit he'd worn in a long time (he couldn't even remember the last time he wore a suit), and his hair was covered in gel, similar to the way Morgan had done it for him when he was first trying to flirt with Sarah at Buy More. He practiced his brooding look in the mirror.

So, he'd made the decision to continue with Morgan's method. It seemed to have worked the first time, since she was willing to go on a date with him. It would be extremely out of character for him to be a bad boy, but if it was what would get her to fall hard for him, he'd actually consider doing it. As of now, he was going to be doing just that: being the bad boy.

 _Should I pick you up?_ he texted her.

 _I'll just meet you there_ , she texted back.

He almost had forgotten how she didn't like to give out personal information. Apparently, it was even a big step to reveal where she had grown up. And even then, he hadn't gotten a straight answer. It was 'I loved everywhere'. Maybe she was being honest, maybe she wasn't, but he still barely knew anything about her. For now, it was fine, since they had just recently met. He was hoping this secretive nature would go away when (or _if_ ) this thing between them ever became serious.

"Look at my handsome brother going on a date tonight!" Ellie exclaimed when Chuck came downstairs.

"Hi, Ellie..." he muttered. "I know, this is weird, to see me all dressed up like this-"

"I think it's adorable," Ellie commented. "Well, I mean, the hair does make you look a little bit douchey, but I think it's so cute how you're getting super fancy for this girl. She must be pretty great if she's able to make Chuck Bartowski put on a penguin suit."

Chuck laughed quietly.

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed. "She's been pretty great so far, but I don't really know her that well yet. Hopefully that'll change though, starting tonight."

"Don't be late on the first day!" Ellie cried. "You better get going."

"You're right, but maybe I'd look a lot cooler if I was fashionably late," Chuck said with a grin.

"Oh, please don't try," Ellie begged. "A lot of guys think that girls like douchebag bad boys, but that's not true. Don't try and be that. If you just act like the sweetheart you are, I'm positive this girl will fall crazily in love with you. If she doesn't, then it's her loss."

Chuck sighed. That contradicted to what Morgan said. Obviously, Ellie was the more sensible of the two, but Morgan's method _did_ seem like it worked. It was seriously true that girls always fell for the bad boys. He remembered the way his close friend Bryce Larkin would charm the pants off tons of girls back in Stanford, and he was a complete stud. He and Bryce were still friends now, oddly, but Bryce traveled a lot. He went on a trip at least once a month, maybe even every few weeks. He'd come to Burbank for a little bit, because that was where his house was, but then he'd jet off to some other place, usually with some hot foreign woman (a different one every time, too). Sometimes Chuck wished he had the mojo of Bryce Larkin. Okay, maybe it was more than just sometimes... Bryce Larkin had serious mojo with girls.

He left the house and got in his car, driving out to that fancy-shmancy Italian place he'd searched for on Yelp (yes, that very expensive one). He'd made a reservation immediately after he decided where he would take Sarah on their first date.

"Bartowski, party of two."

"Where's the second?" the woman asked.

"My lovely date should arrive here shortly," Chuck answered with a proud smile on his face.

The woman directed him to his table. He sat down, searching for Sarah. He didn't want to seem too desperate and text her to ask where she was, because that would completely violate Morgan's method. He turned his head to look at the door, and at just that right moment, the gorgeous blonde walked in. It felt like slow motion, the way her hair flipped back, her blue eyed sparkled, and her long legs shined. She was wearing a tight red dress that hugged her curves, making her look amazing, of course. He would be surprised if she looked anything less than beautiful, ever.

"Sarah!" he exclaimed to get her attention.

She smiled adorably when he called her name. She offered him a short but cute wave, and then began walking over to his table. His instincts were telling him to pull out the chair for her, but he knew a true douchebag wouldn't do that. Before he could make himself do it, Sarah had already pulled out the chair for herself. She sat down, not upset or annoyed that he hadn't done the gentlemanly thing of pulling out the chair for her.

"Hello," she greeted. "Wow, you look... dapper."

"Would I ever look anything less?" he cockily said, allowing that brooding look to enter his eyes.

She furrowed his eyebrows. The dick-language wasn't working so well on her so far.

"Isn't this the part where you compliment the girl, or have you never been on a date before?" she asked jokingly.

"Maybe I will," he continued, the brooding look still in his eyes. "All you have to do is beg a little."

She didn't find it funny _or_ charming. It almost looked like she was glaring at him.

"Is there any particular reason why you're acting like a jackass?" she said, rolling her eyes. And to think she thought she saw something special in him. She actually _did_ find his dorky charm appealing. This new jackass attitude wasn't even remotely part of the reason she said yes to go out with him.

Chuck swallowed hard. The Morgan method wasn't working so well now, was it?

"Come on, I just think you should beg a little. Is that so bad?" Chuck laughed. "I _did_ let you be lucky enough to go out on a date with me. Just remember that all those other girls got rejected because they weren't worth my time. You're sorta worth my time."

"Oh really? I feel super lucky right now, too," she sarcastically said, rolling her eyes.

"You should, babe," Chuck smirked, feeling completely out of character, but still feeling like she wanted a bad boy.

"It's barely been five minutes, and this is like, the worst date I've ever been on in my entire life," Sarah told him. "Go date one of those 'million other girls' following you, because I will _not_ be one of them. It's hard to believe any girl would even chase after a dick like you, Chuck Bartowski."

"Sarah, I-"

"No, you can save it," she told him with anger in her voice. She had finally lost her patience. She slammed the menu down on the table, and stood up. "Screw you."

He bit his lip, realizing how badly he had screwed up. The Morgan method was a complete piece of shit, and so was he. At least that was what Chuck felt like. He felt like a total piece of shit after what he did.

"Sarah, wait!" Chuck cried, getting up from the table.

They were in the parking lot, and she kept walking towards her car, having no intention of turning back. But he kept calling her. He kept hoping there was a way to turn this night around.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I did back in the restaurant!" Chuck cried. "Will you please just hear me out?"

"I don't know you, okay?" Sarah told him, finally turning around to face him. "I don't know you, and now, I don't want to. I took a chance and said yes to this date because I thought you were different than most guys. Most of the guys I've dated have been jackasses, and for once, I thought I saw a cute guy that wasn't a jackass. But you are _exactly_ like all those other guys I've been with, maybe even worse. So yeah, screw you, Chuck Bartowski. And no, I have no desire to 'hear you out'. I don't think anything can compensate for the dick way you just acted in there. Goodbye, Chuck. Don't forget to lose my number."

She got into her car, not looking back again.

"Sarah..." he muttered. "Dammit!"

* * *

"Wow, you're back _early_ ," Ellie commented as soon as Chuck came into the house again. "Was it that bad of a date?"

"We didn't get much of a date," Chuck explained, sighing. "It wasn't her, though. It was all me."

"No, Chuck," Ellie said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You should never have to feel like it was your fault because things didn't work out with a girl-"

"Ellie, no, it was _seriously_ my fault," he said, putting his hand on his forehead. "I screwed up so badly. Like, mega badly. I listened to this stupid thing Morgan said about how girls like bad boys, and then I tried to be a douchebag guy on the date because I thought that would be what she wanted, but she got so pissed. She left me during the date."

"Chuck!" Ellie cried. "I specifically told you before you went that girls don't like that sort of stuff. Why would you listen to Morgan Grimes? Does anyone even remember the last time that guy has been on a date?"

"I don't know what to do," Chuck said, sighing again. "I already feel like crap. I would do anything to get another shot at that date... to have another shot to show her that I'm not a jackass. She said she wanted to go on a date with me because she thought I would be a nice guy, unlike the other guys she's been with, but I made her think I'm exactly the same by acting like that."

"But you're _not_ exactly the same. If she knew that, she would be all over you again!" Ellie cried.

"Maybe, but now she thinks I _am_ exactly the same, and there's nothing I can do to fix that," he said.

"Yes there is," Ellie told him. "If you really want something to happen, you have to make it happen. Tell her that you screwed up. Tell her about Morgan. Tell her everything. Be honest. Chances are, she just might give you another shot to show her the amazing guy you are. And guess what? You _are_ amazing. The real you. You don't have to be a bad boy for her to like you."

He frowned.

"She doesn't even wanna hear me out now. I tried," he explained.

"Something tells me you didn't try hard enough," Ellie said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, well I didn't want to push her any harder. I already provoked her horribly by being such a dick during the first AND last few minutes of our dinner," Chuck said, sighing.

"Try harder. Don't let a false version of you be the reason this relationship didn't work out. You'll regret it," Ellie warned. "If I were you, I would find this girl, tell her the truth, and make sure she gets to see what kind of guy I really am."

"I'll sleep on it," Chuck told her. "I'm super beat from how hard I screwed up. Before I try and become mojo man again, I'm going to need some rest."

"Okay, Chuck," Ellie laughed. "Good night."

"Good night, El," he returned, and then walked upstairs.


End file.
